The Life Aquatic

Greetings...

Well, I've had a very fun weekend that deserves its own blog.

SATURDAY:

Rob and I made the trek down to the famous Haeundae Beach (Hay-Un-Day). If you don't know already (we didn't), Haeundae is perhaps the most famous beach in Busan if not the entire country. It's a tourist hot spot and it could not have been built up any further. Perhaps because it was March and cold but we were not impressed. It's small for one and the view was nothing much to write home about. Of course, when it warms up and the beach is jam packed, it'll seem a lot cooler.

There's also an aquarium right on the beach so I suggested we check it out. I was not expecting much--there's typically not much to aquariums that I haven't seen before but I was thankfully mistaken. Lots of cool and fascinating creatures, all ready and willing to pose for my camera.

We then decided to explore the rest of the beach...but there was not much. We did find O'Kim's--the Korean/Irish pub that we first read about in our travel guide. We thought the idea of a guy who visits Ireland, sees how pubs are named, comes back to Korea and names it O'Kim's was hilarious. We didn't go inside but we promised we would someday.

There are some cinemas down in that area so we decided to catch a flick. What was at first a casual decision turned into a VERY long walk, a lot of map checking and a taxi driver who had no clue where we were trying to go. We finally ended up at a proper multi-plex, had Burger King and saw the Friday the 13th remake. I must say that Burger King in Korea is so far the best burger around. We've been to McDonald's and we've been to a Korean knock-off called Lotteria and they just don't get it.

SUNDAY:

I found out that Mrs. Lee's birthday was Saturday so I decided to buy her a little cake. I called Lucy and she thought it was a good idea. When I mentioned getting a gift, she suggested a hair clip because she really likes them and it's small enough to be an appropriate gift. So, tomorrow, after lunch we'll be having a 3-person birthday party. There's a "French Bakery" down the street from my place so I went there. I found this rectangle shaped, Lemon Cream Sponge Cake for $6!

We had plans to go to a soccer game at 7pm. It's a good thing Ashley called and asked if we were going because it actually started at 3pm instead! We met up at the stadium with Ashley and two other EPIK teachers that Ashley knew so we went as a little American entourage. I'm not sure if the stadium was actually built for the World Cup that was hosted here in 2002 but it was quite impressive. The outside looks a lot like a spaceship. It's called the Asiad Stadium if you want to google it--Rob's got some photos. Speaking of Rob, a few people have been wanting to read his blog as well so here's a link:

http://kimchikoontz.blogspot.com/

The stadium was strikingly empty. They set up bleachers...an extensive set but bleachers nonetheless...instead of letting us sit in the actual seats. This meant we had great seats but it felt more like a high school game rather than professional sports. Also, the stadium is a semi-dome...and we just happen to sit with the sun beating down on us for 2 hours. I don't feel sunburned but I probably am. Great.

After the game, the 5 of us went to a "real" restaurant. No Outback this time. One of Ashley's friends suggested this place right by the stadium that she'd been to before. I was really hoping that she just wasn't really into the gross Korean food and there would be something that didn't remind me of my school lunches. I got a plate with some gimbap (Korean style California rolls), some cabbage with dressing, corn and a fried pork cutlet with some tasty sauce on top. I was very pleased with this venture into Korean cuisine. I don't know if it's because I'm eating elementary school Korean food but I'm very close to proclaiming my official dislike of Korean food. I'm holding out on this official statement because I've been out to Korean restaurants and had some pretty tasty stuff: BBQ with Rob last week and tonight would be examples. So, I know there's good stuff out there but they somehow avoid most of these at school.

I was talking with Cari today and she thinks I'm too passive and agreeable. She knows there are things that I'm NOT okay with and she wanted a list. So, by request, here's a list of things that would be considered negatives:

-the food (see above)
-the inconsistent and unreliable hot water in the shower
-the no napkins at meals
-the no DRINKS at meals (never have I been more concerned about dehydration)
-having to air dry my clothes on a cheap metal rack
-not being able to see any Korean films with English subtitles at the theater
-having to separate my own trash into confusing and nonsensical categories
-not being able to find clothes/shoes that will fit
-not knowing where I can get my work clothes dry cleaned

I'm sure I'll come up with more in the coming months but there's just a little proof that life in Korea is not perfect...but it is cool!

Really cool story...
Friday, it was raining when I woke up. I thought, "Okay, I'm definitely taking a taxi today," as I had yet to purchase an umbrella. But, as I stepped outside, the rain had basically stopped. If I didn't know it had been raining, I might ask, "Is it raining?" So, I decided to just walk to the bus stop as usual. Everything was fine on the way but as I was standing and waiting for the bus, the rain came back with a vengeance. I got soaked. And now, of course, there are no taxis anywhere. Finally, the bus shows up and I hop on. I still have a good 10-15 minute walk as soon as I get off the bus but them's the breaks. I get off and start walking very briskly through the still raging rain. There are a few schools and businesses in the area (in other words, lots of dry Koreans under umbrellas with confused looks on their faces at the foreigner in a suit getting drenched). Then, as I'm about to make the turn up the big hill towards school, a little boy comes over with his umbrella and puts it over me. I was so touched! I told him thank you and we continued to walk--him holding the umbrella and me kinda crouched underneath. He figured it out much sooner than I did and he handed me the umbrella so I could hold it and we'd both be comfortable (kids are so smart). Turns out he was one of the students at my school and we finished the walk in silence but the awesomeness was there. We got there, I thanked him emphatically and I ran inside. I really wish I would've gotten his name or something. I'd totally buy him some cookies or candy for his altruism. So cool.

And on that note, I'll end this session.

Here's some videos from the aquarium:

http://www.youtube.com/user/solertia33

Stay tuned...

Adios!
Brent